Territory Manager/OEM Sales

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Intellichain

Watch out for those kids!

Goats are delightfully social and versatile creatures that can produce a variety of items. One doe can milk up to 90 quarts every month providing milk and cheese. Wethers, or castrated male goats, can give anywhere from 25-40 lbs. of meat. Other breeds are bred for their wool/hair or hides and some are kept as pets.

Goats love to climb and jump. This means their fencing and housing needs to be “goat-proofed” in order to keep goats where they need to be. Housing should be built so goats are not able to get up to the roof, where they can then jump over a nearby fence or injure themselves. Goat housing should be an area where the animals can stay dry and out of the wind, with sufficient bedding in colder temperatures to keep them warm.

Fences should be at least 5 feet high, and braced from the outside. Since goats can chew through most anything, some people find electrifying the top row of fencing deters goats. Others use wooden fencing, chain-link fence, or a combination of different types of fence in order to keep goats where they need to be. There is even specialty goat fencing if you don’t mind an investment.

Goats are known to eat just about anything. It would be easy to think they would be low maintenance to feed. This is partially true. Goats can be let out to eat grass or forage in the woods. However, it is important to rotate where the goats graze so the plants are eaten evenly and so the goats have a wider variety of food types. No matter what goats eat, they will still require hay to munch on. Any goat that is milking or pregnant should also be supplemented with some specialized goat food with extra nutrients.